It’s at this time of year the wheels start coming off New Year resolutions. But it doesn’t always have to be like this…

The problem with my own New Year goals is they’re COMPLETELY UNREALISTIC. Eight times out of 10 I set stupid goals. Am I really gonna stick to daily 5am 10k runs? A celery and radish juice diet washed down with glasses and glasses and glasses of water, really Rob? REALLY?

For many good New Year health intentions turn into raging dumpster fires because we don’t spend enough time thinking about them. So before those resolutions go up in flames let’s fix this situation. Grab a notebook and your favourite pen because we’re going to spend 10 mins thinking, reviewing and tweaking our goals to make our resolutions BULLET PROOF.

1. FIRST WRITE THEM DOWN

It’s the same every year. We set broad resolutions in our head without properly thinking them through. Then as willpower falters a few weeks later we’re hiding under the covers refusing to even think about them.

But not all of us fall off the wagon. Those that spend the time properly planning and writing down New Year goals, or better still declaring these goals to friends and family are more likely to see them through. 

Why? Well according to experts the act of just writing these things down makes it feel more like a commitment than keeping it just in your head. 

SO the first step, let’s write down one or two things we really want to do in 2018. Next we ask ourselves why…

2. ASK YOURSELF WHY (WHY GOD WHY)

You’ve written down your goals, AWESOME! Now spend a minute or so asking yourself why you want to make this change. Why does this really mean something to you AND, just as important, why does this also really matter to the people we care about?

Just properly thinking on your goals will take you further into the willpower zone. Setting ironclad reasons and writing them down and reviewing these as the days and weeks move on helps sharpen focus.

At this point also consider whether these goals are realistic. Now’s the time to tweak them if you think they’re on the impossible side. You can dilute them, make them less drastic, extend the time to reach the goal or even set mini-goals a part way towards a bigger goal much further off.

When you’re left with something you think is challenging but achievable next we think strategy…

3. GET SOME STRATEGIES

Now figure out ways of reaching your goal(s). What strategies do you need to use daily, weekly or monthly. Keep these fairly broad right now; as we move on we can start to plan details of specific actions and timings.

For example, if our goal was to lose 15kg, what broad things will help us achieve this. So we could do things like making our own healthy meals, reducing sugar or alcohol intake, cutting down eating-out, takeaways and eating convenience foods, we can be more active and exercise more, drink more water, etc.

Don’t go overboard, the more you take on the more you might struggle to fit in. Start simple and easy, choose just one or two. Next we’re ready to start planning actions…

4. PREPARATION

Now take the strategies and break them down into the small actions and activities you need to complete over a day or week to get bit by bit closer to your goal.

As with most of good stuff in life - travelling, great holidays, awesome parties - planning is key. Don’t worry actions don’t have to be meticulously planned 90 days in advance, but having good rough plan for a few weeks in advance will help Then breaking this into a more definite plan for the next 7-14 days will work. Without this you'll run the risk of farting around or completely slacking things off.

Let’s take the example of losing 15kg as the goal once again. Specifically lets look at the strategy of making your own healthy meals. The small actions to help achieve this could be to meal plan, quickly research a few healthy recipes every Sunday for the next seven days and write a weekly meal plan. The next action could be to spend 20 mins online ordering a healthy food delivery. Another action could be to spend 10 mins each night prepping breakfast, lunch and snacks (or even in batches) using that same meal plan.

Again be realistic with this. How much time do we have to dedicate to reaching these goals? When in the day/week will we be able to devote time to these actions. 

5. FACTOR IN FRIENDS

A fairly straightforward one. Make it as easy as GODDAMN possible to stay eating healthily and/or get out the door training and you’ll be closer to doing just that. An awesome way of doing just this is to get mates onboard. 

Either persuading other friends with similar goals to get onboard or sharing your goals with others will motivate and encourage you to stay on target. So pick up the phone and find your wingman!

IT Games Club is supported by a growing number of global IT companies, and aims to bring sport and fitness to the forefront of the IT industry. Challenging and motivating the industry to get fitter and healthier. If you are a senior IT professional who would like motivation and free entry into events around the world, then join up today, membership is free (and always will be). As we grow we will be opening up membership to a wider audience in the industry and across more sports and pastimes. www.itgames.club

Resilience noun ~ IT: the ability to provide and maintain an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation. • Sport: ability to maintain healthy heart, brain, blood vessels, bones and muscles to build resilience.